Zuckerberg and Parker's Nightclub Fight; Swank's Apology Tour

Welcome to the Smart Set. Every morning we bring you the gossip coverage, filtered. Today: Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker had a very public disagreement over Spotify, Hilary Swank is very sorry for saying happy birthday to the torture-happy president of Chechnya, and Roger Ailes saves a colleague from choking on shellfish

Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker got into "a boozy fight" complete with "a huge public bust-up" over Facebook's role in the new music streaming service Spotify earlier this month outside West Hollywood club The Beverly. “Sean and Mark had done the big Spotify launch and headed to The Beverly to party," a source told Page Six. "They spent a lot of money on alcohol, and as the night went on they got into an intense discussion, which turned into a loud argument as they left.” According to the witness, the beef was over forcing users to register. "Sean argued that all Spotify users should not be forced to sign up for a Facebook account, but Mark wouldn’t budge," says the insider. "It was a full on screaming match outside the club, but stopped short at coming to blows. They then stormed off in different directions.” Before the fracas, Parker is said to have left a $5,000 tip at the bar. Even if the disagreement was ostensibly about Spotify, connoisseurs of Aaron Sorkin's Social Network screenplay will likely think of this as Parker not remembering the name of the girl he lost to the captain of the lacrosse team redux. [Page Six]

Politico transportation reporter Kendra Marr resigned Thursday after editors found seven stories under her byline "that bore troubling similarities to work earlier published by others," Politico editor-in-chief John F. Harris and executive editor Jim VandeHei wrote in a memo posted to the Web site. According to Harris and VandeHei, the internal investigation began late Wednesday night when "the writer of a piece about transportation policy published in the New York Times e-mailed one of our senior editors about potential problems with a piece on the same subject that was published in Politico." Editors looked over Marr's piece the next morning and saw "some similarities in phrasing [that were] troubling enough to warrant further examination" of her transportation stories. This in turn revealed more "troubling similarities to work earlier published by others," including "specific turns of phrase or passages that bore close resemblance to work published elsewhere [and] similarities in the way stories were organized to present their findings." Politico has added editor's notes to all of the stories in question. [Politico]

Two-time Best Actress winner Hilary Swank is very sorry for going to the President of Chechnya's birthday last Wednesday, but notes in a statement she was only in the area "to attend "the opening of a new residential and commercial complex in Grozny City, including the largest sports complex in southern Russia" when she was invited to say happy birthday to President Ramzan Kadyrov, who The New York Times reported in 2010 "maintain[ed] a death list of 300 enemies to be killed, and managed a special department responsible for the killings." Swank's rep explains the actress accepted the invitation not because she approved of the enemies list, but because she didn't want to be rude. She says she now regrets attending (no word yet from fellow partygoer Jean-Claude Van Damme) because it has "thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights." Swank does not address the letter that the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights says it sent Swank, Van Damme, and other celebrity invitees like Shakira and Kevin Costner briefing them on Kadryrov's alleged human rights abuses. [Celebritology]

Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes (with an assist from Fox Business financial analyst Eric Bolling) stopped the network's left-leaning commentator Bob Beckel from choking on a hunk of shrimp during lunch yesterday at Del Frisco's. Ailes was taking Bolling and Beckel, co-hosts of The Five, out to lunch with Fox News executives Bill Shine and Suzanne Scot, when Beckel began choking. [Beckel] was leaning over strangely and turning different colors,”said a source at the restaurant. According to the witness, Ailes “noticed first, stood up and immediately began performing the Heimlich. Ailes led the way. When [Beckel] was still red and purple, Bolling came in for the assist, and then Beckel spat something up.” In other words, Bolling is Tonto to Ailes' shrimp-dislodging Lone Ranger. Now everyone who reads Page Six knows it. [Page Six]

Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer, the two U.S. hikers who were jailed for more than two years in Iran on espionage charges, were spotted enjoying their freedom Wednesday night over dinner at Cafe Milano in Georgetown, which may or may not have be the D.C. restaurant where the Iranian government wanted to blow up Saudi ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir. Fattal and Bauer both had the pasta primavera. [The Reliable Source]

A friend says Demi Moore "hasn't been eating" since the details of Ashton Kutcher's bunga-bunga parties hit magazines last month. Since the story broke, Moore apparently has been spending time "perfecting her figure and recently signed up for a juice-cleanse delivery service," presumably to take her mind off the fact her husband may have had unprotected sex with a strange lady he met at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. Moore's friends, however, think she's going overboard. "She is superskinny," says one, "and it's hard to look at." [Us Weekly]

Bill Clinton's two-day, 65th birthday bash is taking place this weekend in Hollywood and Ron Burkle will be persona non grata. A Clinton rep says Burkle "was not" invited to the festivities and "won't be attending." Among the names that will be attending: Kenny Chesney, Lady Gaga, Bono, and The Edge, all of whom are also expected to perform. Barbra Streisand, Fergie and Stevie Nicks are listed as "guusts" alongside Ewan McGregor, Steve Bing, Patricia Arquette, Donna Karan, Jane Fonda, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Felicity Huffman, but we think it's a good bet all three will find a way to serenade the president during the proceedings. [Page Six]

The red carpet photo of Lindsay Lohan showing "what appear to be her yellowing teeth, as well as nail polish streaks and blotches on her hands" could be the least problematic news of the troubled actresses' week. According to TMZ, Lohan "has violated the judge's order in her probation case by not seeing a psychologist at least once a week...and that may be enough to send her to the slammer." It likely won't help that she was "kicked out of the Downtown Women's Center, where [she was prdered] to perform 360 hours of community service...because she repeatedly failed to show up, and when she did she frequently did not stay the required 4 hours at a time." Sources in the Probation Department say Lohan has logged only 21 of the 360 hours of community service she needs to complete by May 11. [People and TMZ]

New York magazine writer Emily Nussbaum is the new TV critic at The New Yorker. She replaces Nancy Franklin, who held the post for 13 years before announcing she was leaving in September. Nussbaum will start "early next month." Turning her seven years at New York, she served as culture editor, and is credited with creating the magazine's Approval Matrix. [Women's Wear Daily]